This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix looks like it could be a tough affair for Ferrari. Fernando Alonso has admitted in Friday’s FIA Press Conference that he would be lying if he thought Ferrari could aim for a a repeat of last year’s victory at the Circuit de Catalunya, let alone finish on the podium.

The Spaniard scored the team’s first podium of the season in the troubled F14T at the previous Grand Prix in China, a a morale boosting for the Maranello outfit which has struggled to improve the troubled car.

“The result in China was a boost for the team, but it came about because of a set of circumstances,” he told the assembled journalists.

“I was lucky enough not to damage my car in the accident after the start, the two Red Bulls got a bit delayed, my pit stops were quick, so many factors put me on the podium. We need very special weekends to do it again and a podium here would be unbelievable.”

“Here, we will have to wait and see if the characteristics of the track can help us a little bit,” he added, highlighting that the circuit will quickly showcase major aerodynamic weaknesses up and down the grid.

“There are not many straights, just the main one past the pits. It’s a good place to check how competitive we are and it will give us some answers. Then we go to Monaco and Canada, two completely different tracks, so I believe this point of the championship will tell us many things.”

The two-time Spanish Grand Prix winner also played down the potential of the suite of upgrades that the team will be introducing to the F14T.

“There are some new parts, but nothing special,” he added. “We are realistic and we will improve step by step and not give up. There is a big gap to Mercedes, but the championship has a long way to go.

“We must use all the potential within Ferrari to do everything we can to close the gap [to Mercedes] and become more competitive. It will be a slow recovery and so when we have improved we must hope it is not too late by then to fight for the championship.”